Iran Hunts US ScanEagle Drone over Persian Gulf

FARS NEWS AGENCY -
TEHRAN (FNA)- Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi announced that his forces hunted a US Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) over the Persian Gulf after the drone violated the country's airspace.

The UAV which had conducted several reconnaissance flights over the Persian Gulf general zone in the past few days was caught and brought under control by air defense units and control systems of the IRGC Navy. 

The IRGC navy commander announced that the haunted UAV was a ScanEagle drone, adding that "such drones are usually launched from large warships." 

Fadavi further noted that the IRGC has full intelligence supremacy over foreign forces' moves in the Persian Gulf. 

ScanEagle is a small, low-cost, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing. 

ScanEagle is based on Insitu's Seascan miniature robotic aircraft and draws on Boeing's systems integration, communications and payload technologies. 

As standard payload ScanEagle carries either an inertially stabilized electro-optical or an infrared camera. The gimbaled camera allows the operator to easily track both stationary and moving targets, providing real-time intelligence. 

Capable of flying above 16,000 feet, the UAV has also demonstrated the ability to provide persistent low-altitude reconnaissance. 

The development came exactly a year after Iran announced on December 4, 2011 that its defense forces had downed a US RQ-170 drone through a sophisticated cyber attack.

The drone was the first such loss by the US. US officials have described the loss of the aircraft in Iran as a setback and a fatal blow to the stealth drone program. 

The RQ-170 has special coatings and a batwing shape designed to help it penetrate other nations' air defenses undetected. The existence of the aircraft, which is made by Lockheed Martin, has been known since 2009, when a model was photographed at the main US airfield in Kandahar, Afghanistan. 

The unmanned surveillance plane lost by the United States in Iran was a stealth aircraft being used for secret missions by the CIA, US officials admitted in December. 

The aircraft is among the highly sensitive surveillance platform in the CIA's fleet that was shaped and designed to evade enemy defenses.

Devamı

Colombia rebels 'killed in military attack'

Bombing raids on camp follow president's warning that guerrilla group FARC had less than a year to reach peace deal.

At least 20 anti-government fighters have been killed in Colombia after the military launched bombing raids against their camp in Narino province, near the border with Ecuador, according to the Colombian army.

The fighters belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest guerrilla group, General Leonardo Barrero, a local military commander, said on Sunday.

He said the fighters belonged to the mobile Marshal Sucre column who had set up a base in the area. At least three separate guerrilla camps were bombed during the operation at dawn on Saturday.

The attack came as Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos warned FARC leaders on Sunday that they had less than a year to reach a negotiated end to Latin America's longest-running armed campaign.

"This has to be a process of months, rather than years. In other words, this should not last any longer than November next year at the latest," Santos said at an event in the Caribbean resort city of Cartagena.

The FARC, Latin America's oldest armed group, started talks formally with Bogota on October 18 in neutral Norway. The talks moved to Havana, Cuba, on November 19 and will resume this week.

It is a conflict that has dragged on for almost a half century, with some 600,000 dead, 15,000 missing and four million people domestically displaced.

Devamı

Obama warns Syria over chemical weapons use

US president says there will be "consequences" if President Assad uses chemical weapons on his own people.

Barack Obama, the US president, has warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad not to use chemical weapons on his own people, saying there would be consequences if he were to do so.

"Today I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command: The world is watching," he said on Monday.

"The use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable and if you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons there will be consequences and you will be held accountable."

Syrian state media quoted its foreign ministry as saying that it would "never under any circumstances" use such weapons, "if such weapons exist".

Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, who is in Prague, the capital of Czech Republic, said she would not outline any specifics.
"But suffice it to say, we are certainly planning to take action if that eventuality were to occur," she said.
Earlier in the day, a senior White House spokesman said that the US and its allied intelligence had monitored Syrian movement of chemical weapons components in recent days.
"We are concerned that an increasingly beleaguered regime, having found its escalation of violence through conventional means inadequate, might be considering the use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people," Jay Carney, press secretary, said at a White House briefing.
"And as the president has said, any use or proliferation of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime would cross a red line for the United States."
Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, said: "It's clear there is a concern on the Americans' part, as there has been since the start of the rebel uprising in Syria, that perhaps the Assad regime could turn to its chemical weapons stockpile - something it says that it may not have - to attack its own people."

Devamı

Greece unveils $13bn bond buyback plan

Move is part of efforts to reform country's stricken economy and will pave way for vital international bailout loans.

Greece says it will spend $13bn in a bond buyback programme that it hopes will help stabilise its huge debt.

The buyback, one of the steps Greece is taking to secure the disbursement of vital international rescue loans, is part of efforts to reform the country's stricken economy and reduce its debt to sustainable levels.

In an interim report on monetary policy released on Monday, the central bank said the new measures, if implemented on time, "are positive developments, which create plausible expectations of a recovery of the Greek economy".

"This outcome, however, hinges upon a consistent implementation of all the measures legislated, together with policies that will speed up the onset of recovery, including a broader program of structural reforms," warned the Bank of Greece.

"Any delays will push the recovery back, with consequences that will be far more severe than anything that has so far happened."
The bond buyback was agreed at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels last week, which also approved the release of a critical $57bn installment of rescue loans from the International Monetary Fund and the other 16 European Union countries that use the euro.
It is hoped the buyback will shave about $26bn off the country's debt. It comes less than a year after private holders of Greek debt agreed a big writedown in the value of their Greek bonds.
Under the buyback programme, private holders of Greek bonds, such as banks, pension funds and other investors, have until Friday to register their interest in participating. The sale will be conducted by what is known as a Dutch auction, in which prices start high and then decline.
There are 20 series of outstanding bonds eligible for the scheme, which will command different prices depending on the bond maturity, the Public Debt Management Agency said.
Greece has set a minimum range of 30.2 per cent to 38.1 per cent of the bond's face value, and a maximum of between 32.2 per cent and 40.1 per cent, depending on the bond issue. The buyback should be completed by December 17.

Drastic measures
The scheme is expected to be of particular interest to investors who bought the bonds on the secondary market at far cheaper prices than their original value - over the past few months, some Greek bonds have hit as little as 11 percent of their face value.
Greek officials are to brief eurozone finance ministers on details of the scheme when they meet in Brussels later on Monday.
Greece has been dependent since May 2010 on international rescue loans from the IMF and its partners in the euro. The funds have prevented the country going bankrupt and possibly leaving the euro.
In return, Greece has had to take drastic measures to reform its economy, including slashing pensions and salaries, and increasing taxes. But the measures have not had the effect Greece's creditors had hoped, with a worse-than-expected recession now heading into its sixth year and undermining efforts to make the country's debt sustainable.
The Bank of Greece projected that the country's economy would contract by more than 6 per cent of gross domestic product this year, and by a further 4-4.5 per cent next year.

Unemployment, currently at an annual average of just over 23.5 per cent, is expected to exceed 26 per cent in 2013 and 2014.
"A recession of this intensity and duration is unprecedented in Greece's peacetime history and has taken a heavy toll not only on incomes, but also on potential output and social cohesion," the central bank's report said.

Devamı

NATO weighs Turkey's Patriot missile request

Foreign ministers to meet in Brussels to consider deployment of missile defence system amid tensions with Syria.

NATO foreign ministers are set to discuss Turkey's request for deployment of Patriot missiles to counter a threat from Syria, despite a warning by the Russian president that deployment could increase tensions.

Ivo Daalder, the US ambassador to NATO, said on Monday the ministers’ meeting, which begins on Tuesday in Brussels, was likely to clear the way for the Patriot missiles.

The escalating conflict in Syria is expected to be a major talking point for the alliance's 28 members who share a vow of mutual defence.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said on Monday that any deployment of Patriot missiles would only add to tensions.
"Creating additional capabilities on the border does not defuse the situation but on the contrary exacerbates it," Putin, whose country is not a NATO member, said after talks in Istanbul with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister.
Both NATO and Turkey insist that the deployment of the US-made surface-to-air Patriot missiles is a purely defensive move.
High chances
Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from Brussels, said there were high chances of Turkey's request being granted.

"It's extremely likely that the 28 members of NATO ...will agree to come to Turkey's assistance; to meet the request made last month to help augment their air defences in light of a possibility of attack from Syria along and across its 900km border with Syria," he said.
Military sources in Turkey have said NATO is considering the deployment of up to six Patriot batteries and some 300-400 foreign troops to operate them.
The discussion on Turkey's request comes amid a warning by the US president to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against using chemical weapons on his own people, saying there would be consequences if he were to do so.


"Today I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command: The world is watching," Barack Obama said on Monday.
"The use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable and if you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons there will be consequences and you will be held accountable."
Syrian state media responded by quoting its foreign ministry as saying that it would "never under any circumstances" use such weapons, "if such weapons exist".
Earlier in the day, a senior White House spokesman said that the US and its allied intelligence had monitored Syrian movement of chemical weapons components in recent days.
Staff reduction
In another Syria-related development, the UN and European Union announced on Monday that they were scaling back staff and activities from the country.
Martin Nesirky, spokesman for UN chief Ban Ki-moon, said some convoys had been caught in the crossfire between Syrian government and rebel forces, including an incident near the airport in which two staff were injured.
"We can confirm that the UN in Syria will pull out non-essential international personnel with immediate effect," Nesirky said in New York on Monday. "The UN will also suspend its missions within the country until further notice."
The UN said that up to 25 of about 100 foreign staff would leave this week, pointing out that more armoured vehicles were needed after attacks in recent weeks on humanitarian aid convoys and the hijacking of goods or vehicles.

Devamı

Alman Basınında Patriot Tartışmaları

Wiesbadener Kurier, Türkiye-Suriye sınırında görev yapacak yabancı askerin katkısının Suriye'deki iç savaşın komşu ülkelere sıçramasını önlemek olduğunu savundu Alman Patriot uçak savar füzelerinin Türkiye-Suriye sınırına konuşlandırılması...

Wiesbadener Kurier, Türkiye-Suriye sınırında görev yapacak yabancı askerin katkısının Suriye'deki iç savaşın komşu ülkelere sıçramasını önlemek olduğunu savundu Alman Patriot uçak savar füzelerinin Türkiye-Suriye sınırına konuşlandırılması tartışmaları ve İsrail ile Hamas arasındaki gerginlik Alman basınında geniş yer buldu. 

-WİESBADENER KURİER: "MİSYON, SURİYE'DEKİ SAVAŞIN YAYILMASINI ÖNLEMEK OLMALI"- 

Wiesbadener Kurier gazetesi, "(O bölgede) görev yapacak birkaç yabancı askerin katkısı ancak ve ancak Suriye'deki iç savaşın komşu ülkelere sirayet etmesini önlemek olabilir. Misyon sadece bu olmalıdır" değerlendirmesini yaptı. 

Gazete, "Alman askerlerinin Türkiye'de görev yapacak olması, sadece bir askeri birliğin bir NATO üyesi ülkeye sevk edilmesi olarak algılanmamalıdır. Alman parlamentosu -uluslararası hukuka ilişkin değerlendirmeler bir yana- federal hükümete bu askeri görev için mutlaka yetki verme fırsatına sahip olmalıdır" diye yazdı. 

-NÜRNBERGER ZEİTUNG: "TÜRKİYE'NİN PATRİOT TALEBİNE KARŞI ÇIKACAK BİR NEDEN YOK"- 

Nürnberger Zeitung gazetesi ise, "Barış yanlıları bir yerlerde bir askeri üniforma düğmesi bile görseler, anında yüzleri buruşur. Ama aslına bakılacak olursa, Türkiye'nin topraklarını Patriot tipi uçaksavar füzeleri ile korumak üzere ricada bulunmuş olmasına karşı çıkmak için bir neden yok" yorumunu yaptı. 

Patriot füzelerinin saldırı silahı olmadığını, füzelerin görevinin saldırı amacıyla gönderilen füzeleri hedefine varmadan imha etmek olduğunu belirten gazete, "İsrail de şu sıralarda bu Patriot uçaksavar füzelerinden yararlanıyor. İsrail ordusu, Gazze yönünden atılan ve ölüm getiren mermileri hep bunlarla durdurdu ve durdurmaya devam ediyor. Aksi takdirde İsrail'de çok daha fazla sivil can kaybı ortaya çıkmış olurdu" ifadelerini kullandı. 

-KÖLNER STADT-ANZEİGER: "NATO, ANKARA'YI ZORLAMALI"- 

Köln'de yayımlanan Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger gazetesi de, NATO'nun Ortadoğu'da tansiyonun düşürülmesi için Ankara'yı zorlaması, ayrıca İsrail ordusunun Gazze Şeridi'ne girmemesi için elden gelen herşeyin yapılması gerektiğini belirtti. 

Haberde, "İsrail'in Gazze'ye girmesi askeri açıdan bir zaruret değil. Olası bir kara harekatı siyasi açıdan da çok riskli olur. Zira böyle bir girişim ister istemez Mısır'ı duruma tepki vermeye zorlar. ve Suriye'deki müttefiklerinin üzerindeki baskıyı azaltmak isteyen İran'ı da ortalığı karıştırmaya devam etmek yönünde cesaretlendirir" görüşüne yer verildi. 

Gazete ayrıca, "Eğer namlular konuşmaya devam ederse bu, Orta ve Yakın Doğu'daki otoriter sertlik yanlılarının işine yarar Batı'nın değil" yorumunu yaptı. 

-FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEİNE ZEİTUNG: "NETANYAHU GAZZE'YE GİRERSE BATI'NIN DESTEĞİNİ RİSKE ATAR"- 

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ise, Ortadoğu'daki yeni durumu ve İsrail'in takındığı siyasi ve askerı tavrı analiz ettiği haberinde, "Netanyahu hükümetinin tavrı şimdiye kadar nispeten geniş destek buldu. İsrail'in kendini savunma hakkı olduğu kabul görüyor. Netanyahu eğer birliklerine Gazze Şeridi'ne girme emri verirse, Batı'nın şimdiye kadarki bu desteğini riske atmış olur" değerlendirmesinde bulundu. 

Gazete öte yandan, "Şu anda üzerinde konuşulması gereken sadece ateşkes olabilir ve Hamas'ın da ölümlerle son bulacak bu ateşle oyununun eninde sonunda kendisine döneceğini, silahın geri tepeceğini anlamasına çalışılmalıdır" dedi. - Ankara

Devamı

Davutoğlu: Küresel Adalet İçin BM Reformuna İhtiyaç Var

İstanbul Küresel Forumu'nda konuşan Dışişleri Bakanı Ahmet Davutoğlu, bölgede ve dünyada son yıllarda yaşanan siyasi ve ekonomik krizlere atıfta bulunarak dünyada yeni bir küresel düzene ihtiyaç olduğunu dile getirdi.

İstanbul Küresel Forumu'nda konuşan Dışişleri Bakanı Ahmet Davutoğlu, bölgede ve dünyada son yıllarda yaşanan siyasi ve ekonomik krizlere atıfta bulunarak dünyada yeni bir küresel düzene ihtiyaç olduğunu dile getirdi. Sorunlara çözüm arayışı için BM gibi var olan uluslararası güvenlik ve adalet mekanizmalarının reforma tabi tutulması gerektiğini savunan Davutoğlu, kapsayıcı ve çok kültürlülüğü esas alan yeni bir adalet sisteminin gereksinimlerinden bahsetti.

'Avrupa'DA VAR OLAN SİSTEMLER 19. YÜZYILIN MİRASI'

Davutoğlu, ilk kez düzenlenen ve "adalet" temasını işleyen forumun "Dünya Siyasetinde Türkiye ve Adalet Meselesi konulu oturumunda Arap Birliği Genel Sekreteri Nebil Elarabi, BM Filistin İnsan Hakları Özel Raportörü Richard Falk, El Cezire Televizyonu Eski Genel Müdürü Wadah Khanfar ile birlikte konuşmacı olarak yer aldı. Küresel düzeydeki adalet sisteminde temsil ve karar verme yetkisinin 5 daimi üye ülkenin çıkarları doğrultusunda gerçekleştiğini vurgulayan Dışişleri Bakanı Davutoğlu, "BM, uluslararası camiayı temsil ediyorsa buna uygun bir karar alma süreci olmalıdır ki her ülkenin sesi bu karar alma sürecine yansıyabilsin." şeklinde konuştu.

Dünyada ekonomik dağılımda da adaletsizlik olduğuna ve bu durumun acil olarak çözülmesi gerektiğine işaret eden Davutoğlu "Adalet aynı zamanda adil paylaşım demektir. Bugün var olan uluslararası mekanizmalar göstermektedir ki en etkin ekonomik sistemler dahi muazzam bir krizle karsı karsıya gelebiliyorlar." dedi. Geçtiğimiz yıl Türkiye'nin ev sahipliği yaptığı az gelişmiş ülkeler zirvesiyle birlikte bu ülkeleri de Türkiye'nin temsil ettiğini hatırlatan Davutoğlu, ekonomik dağılımda fakir ülkeler ile zengin ülkeler bir araya getirilmezse sorunların çözümünde mesafe alınamayacağını ve problemin çözümüne herkesin destek vermesi gerektiğini belirtti.

Adaletin tam tesisi için son olarak dünyadaki farklılıkların korunması ve saygı duyulmasına yönelik kültür reformuna ihtiyaç duyulduğunu vurgulayan Davutoğlu, "Avrupa'da var olan sistemler 19. yüzyılın mirası ve bugün yeni bir kültür oluşumuna ihtiyaç var." dedi. Müslümanları aşağılamaya yönelik yapılan filmi nefret suçu işlemek olarak nitelendiren Davutoğlu, "Küresel kültürel düzeyde dışlayıcı değil kapsayıcı olmalıyız. Tüm normların hepsini küresel düzeyde kapsamalıyız." diyerek uluslararası anlamda diyaloğa olan ihtiyacın altını çizdi.

'Ortadoğu'DA SINIRLAR KALKMALI'

Türkiye olarak Ortadoğu'da barış ve istikrarın tesisi için mücadele verildiğini, bu mücadele esnasında siyaset dışında farklı araçlar kullanılmadığını ve başka çıkarlar gözetilmediğini ifade eden Davutoğlu, şu ana kadar Bosna ve Filistin ve Kafkas halklarına da aynı amaçla destek verildiğini söyledi. Ülkelere ait sınırların barışı temin edecek nitelikte ve nicelikte olması gerektiğini savunan Dışişleri Bakanı, "Sınırların Berlin Duvarı gibi görülmediği bir Ortadoğu istiyoruz. Sınır olmalı ama sınırlar önemini kaybetmeli. Bu bölgede fikir ve ürünlerin serbest bir biçimde dolaşmasını istiyoruz. Bizim yeni düzen ve barıştan anladığımız budur." şeklinde konuştu.

İlerleyen dönemde Türkiye'nin öncülüğünde daha çok bölgesel toplantı ve üçlü zirvenin gerçekleştirileceğini açıklayan Davutoğlu, bu toplantılar sayesinde bölge ülkelerin tarihten gelen çok kültürlü yapısının yeniden inşa edilmesinin hedeflendiğini belirtti.

Arap uyanışı sürecinde Türkiye'nin verdiği desteğin halkına baskı uygulayan ve ekonomik gücü elinde bulunduran elit bir zümreye karşı olduğunu hatırlatan Davutoğlu, adalet için ekonomik yolsuzlukla mücadelenin öneminden bahsetti. Davutoğlu, Ortadoğu'da yaşanan süreçte Türkiye'nin tutumunu "Ortadoğu'da adaletsizlik belli bir azınlığın ekonomik düzeni elinde bulundurmasından doğmuştur. Kendisini yakan Yemenlinin başlattığı bu hareket yolsuzluğa karşı isyan edenlerin bir hareketidir. Tunus'taki Yasemin Devrimi'nden bu yana Türkiye'nin tutumu son derece belli olmuştur." sözleriyle özetledi.

Türkiye'nin, Suriye konusunda da aynı düşüncelere sahip olduğunu belirten Davutoğlu, "Suriye'de bulunan farklı etnik gruplar eşittir. Biz Beşşar Esed'e etnik veya dini yapısından dolayı değil halka uyguladığı baskı nedeniyle karşıyız." diyerek sözlerine son verdi.

Devamı

"Esed Rejimi Er ya da Geç Yıkılacak"

PKK lideri Murat Karayılan, Suriye'de Beşşar Esed rejimine destek verdikleri iddialarına cevap verdi.

Terör örgütü Pkk'nın Kandil'deki lideri Murat Karayılan, Suriye'de Beşşar Esed rejimine destek verdikleri iddialarını reddederek, bu ülkede çatışan bir Pkk varlığının olmadığını öne sürdü. Karayılan Esed rejiminin yıkılacağını ya da geç yıkılacağını savundu.

Katar'ın El Cezire televizyonuna Kandil'de demeç veren Karayılan, Pkk'nın son birkaç ayda saldırıları tırmandırmasının tamamen bir rastlantı olduğunu iddia ederek, ilginç açıklamalarda bulundu.

"TÜRKİYE ABD'YE DÖNDÜ SURİYE VE İran'LA İLİŞKİLERİNİ BOZDU"

"Türkiye son zamanlara kadar Suriye ile birlikte bize karşı savaşmaktaydı. Ancak son zamanlarda Türkiye tam bir strateji değişikliğine giderek yüzünü bütünüyle ABD'ye dönerek İran ve Suriye ile ilişkilerini bozdu.

Türkiye şimdi Batı'ya Pkk'nın Suriye ve İran'ın yanında olduğunu söylüyor. Bu tamamen yalan. Türkiye demokratik bir çözümü kabul etmediği sürece direnişi tırmandıracağız. Şu anda görüldüğü kadarıyla Türkiye'nin tutumunda bir değişiklik yok. Türkiye saldırdığı sürece biz de karşılık vereceğiz" dedi.

KARAYILAN: SURİYE'DE TEK BİR Pkk MENSUBU YOK

El Cezire muhabirinin, Başbakan Tayyip Erdoğan'ın Pkk'nın Beşşar Esed güçlerinin yanında çarpıştığı yolundaki sözlerini hatırlatması üzerine Karayılan, "Suriye'de tek bir Pkk mensubu yok. Türkiye Suriyeli Kürtlerin haklarını elde etmesini istemiyor. O yüzden Suriye'de bir savaşa hazırlanıyor. İşte biz bu yüzden Türkiye'nin Suriye'ye müdahale etmesine karşıyız" diye cevap verdi.

KARAYILAN: Pkk'NIN BİRÇOK DEVLETLE TEMASLARI VAR

Karayılan, El Cezire muhabirinin, "Yani Pkk'nın Suriye hükümeti ile ayaklanmanın başından beri hiçbir teması yok öyle mi?" şeklindeki sorusuna ise "Kürtler ve Pkk Ortadoğu'daki ana oyunculardan biri. Dolayısıyla Pkk'nın birçok devletle temasları var. Ancak Suriye ile düzenli bir temasımız yok" dedi.

KARAYILAN: ESED ISRARCI OLMAMALI

Beşşar Esed rejiminin er ya da geç düşeceğini savunan Karayılan, "Artık bu tür rejimlerin aşılma dönemidir. Bunlar er ya da geç yıkılacaktır. Ancak şiddet kullanımı sadece tahribatı artırır, yıkım getirir. Bu rejim mutlaka yıkılacaktır. Dolayısıyla Esed ısrarcı olmamalı" diye konuştu.

El Cezire de Kürtlerin Arap baharını kendi hedeflerine ulaşmak için bir fırsat olarak gördüğü yorumunu yaptı.

Devamı

Iraq's 'al-Qaeda chief' arrested

An Iraqi counter-terrorism official tells Al Jazeera that security forces have arrested the top al-Qaeda leader in Iraq and seized a list of names and locations of other operatives.

"We've spoken to an official in the counter-terrorism unit that actually arrested this man, and they maintain that he is the top al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, but they're not releasing his name because they say they're still interrogating him," said Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf, reporting from Baghdad.

"But what they do say is that he was arrested in Baghdad after a two-month long investigation tracking him, and that in addition to arresting him, they also seized the names and locations of other al-Qaeda operatives," said our correspondent.

Samir al-Shuili, spokesman for a counter-terrorism unit confirmed that members of the unit infiltrated the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaeda umbrella group, and that operatives on the list were from other Arab countries and Iraq was seeking the help of those countries in arresting them.

Robert Grenier, the former head of the CIA's anti-terrorism centre, told Al Jazeera that officials had a good reason to withhold the name of the man they have detained.

"In counter-terrorism operations, as in military operations, the rule of thumb is that the first reports are never correct, so we may see a bit of that at work here," said Grenier.

"Also, there are indications that along with this individual capture there may have been quite a quantity of other materials providing leads to other militants, perhaps in other countries, and so the people responsible for this may want to keep a lid on it for a bit until they've had a chance to follow up on some of those leads with cooperating countries."

Iraqi media has been reporting that the man in custody is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was named head of the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella organisation of armed groups, two years ago after the killing of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi in a US air strike in 2010.

"It's not known whether Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the man who is said to have taken over the al-Qaeda organisation here is actually Iraqi, or, in fact, even exists or is a composite of several people," said Arraf.

"He has kept a very low profile, except for the regular bombings that have taken place [for which] the Islamic State of Iraq has claimed responsibility."

"He has not come out with a lot of statements or videos. He has been, even by al-Qaeda standards, quite a shadowy figure," our correspondent said, adding that the reports of al-Baghdadi's arrest are yet to be confirmed.

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Turkey and Russia fail to agree on Syria

Russia and Turkey cannot agree on how to respond to the Syrian conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is in Istanbul for talks with the Turkish Prime Minister  Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has said.

"Russia and Turkey for the moment cannot find a mutual approach on the methods of how to regulate the situation in Syria. But our assessment of the situation completely coincides," said Putin during a press conference with Erdogan on Monday.

Erdogan told Putin that Russia should stop supporting the regime of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, a claim Putin denied.

"We are not defenders of the existing regime in Syria, I have already stated this, we are concerned about something else, we don't want to repeat the mistakes of past."

Russian-Turkish tensions came to a head in October when Turkey intercepted a Syrian plane en route from Moscow to Damascus on suspicion that it had military cargo, drawing an angry response from Russia.

Erdogan says the Turkish and Russian foreign ministers will work together more intensively on the Syrian problem.

Patriot missiles

Russia also objected to Turkey's request to NATO for the deployment of Patriot missiles on its volatile border with Syria.

It warned that such a move could spark a broader conflict that would draw in the Western military alliance.

Putin told the joint press conference that the deployment of US-made Patriot missiles with war-ravaged Syria would worsen tensions.

"Creating additional capabilities on the border does not defuse the situation but on the contrary exacerbates it," said Putin.

But Turkey insists the US-made Patriots would be used for purely defensive purposes.

Dimitri Peskov, who is Putin's spokesman, told Al Jazeera that there were differences over Syria between the two men.

"Turkey says Assad’s regime should go. We say if Assad leaves, the tens of thousands of refugees in Turkey right now will increase to hundreds of thousands. There will be a gap in the government and there will be lots of blood on the streets. This is what we say".

Protesters had chanted anti-Putin slogans outside Erdogan's office and another demonstration was staged outside the Russian consulate in Istanbul before the two leaders began their meeting on Monday.

Trade links

Despite their differences on some thorny political issues, Russia and Turkey enjoy growing trade and energy links.


In-depth coverage of escalating violence across Syria
The trade volume between the two countries is expected to reach $35bn by the end of this year.

Turkey depends on Russia for most of its natural gas and oil supplies.

In 2010, Ankara struck a deal with Moscow to build the country's first nuclear power plant at Akkuyu in the southern Mersin province.

Putin told the press conference that his country would finance the total cost of the plant.

Russian state company Rosatom is set to construct the 22-billion-dollar plant. It is expected to be completed by 2022.

It is Putin's first trip outside Russia since he visited Tajikistan on October 5 and follows speculation that the normally globe-trotting leader is having health problems.

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Syrian foreign ministry spokesman 'defects'

There are unconfirmed reports that the spokesman of the Syrian Foreign Ministry has defected.

Wael Merza, Syrian National Coalition presidential adviser, said that Makdissi had arrived in London. something Al Jazeera has not yet confirmed.

Lebanons' al-Manar television station reported that Makdissi had been sacked for making statements that do not reflect the state's line.

"We know that in late July, he made comments saying that Syria was not going to use its chemical weapons, admitting, basically, to Syria having chemical weapons," said Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from Beirut.

"Then there was a lot of effort by the goverment to try to diffuse the statement," said Amin.

Makdissi's role had been scaled back since then, with fewer statements and press conferences.

"We've heard, from different sources, that he did leave Syria - at least he has not been in Syria for the past two days - through Lebanon and is now in London." said our correspondent, adding that British officials are neither confirming nor denying Makdissi's defection.

Makdissi often spoke at news conferences in Damascus to set out Syria's response to the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

In June of 2011, the Syrian government also fired spokeswoman Reem Haddad for saying that Syrians seeking shelter in Turkey in order to visit their relatives there.

Hisham Jaber, director of the Middle East Centre for Studies and Research, told Al Jazeera that he believes Makdissi was given permission to visit his family in Lebanon and that he flew to London from Beirut.

"I think he had a reason, maybe, to leave the country, and he made his choice," said Jaber.

"Of course the gentleman is not in the position to have a lot of secrets, but he was very close to the regime and has a lot of information. He's also a very brilliant person and can use his skills among the opposition," said Jaber.

There is no official confirmation on Makdissi's status from the Syrian government.

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US sharpens warning on Syria chemical weapons

The United States has warned Syria against using chemical weapons stockpile against its civilians.

A senior White House spokesman said on Monday that the US and its allied intelligence had monitored Syrian movement of chemical weapons components in recent days.

Speaking at a White House briefing, Jay Carney, Press Secretary, said Syrian opposition forces had made strategic progress and were growing stronger.

He said the regime had not been able to stop the progress using conventional weapons, which had heightened US worries.

"We are concerned that an increasingly beleaguered regime, having found its escalation of violence through conventional means inadequate, might be considering the use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people," Carney said.

"And as the president has said, any use or proliferation of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime would cross a red line for the United States," he added.

Carney said the Damascus regime should know that the world was watching, and regime members would be held accountable by the US and the international community, if they used chemical weapons or failed to meet their obligations to secure them.



Meanwhile, in the face of escalating security concerns the United Nations and European Union announced on Monday that they were scaling back staff and activities from Syria.

Speaking on Monday, Martin Nesirky, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman told reporters some convoys had been caught in crossfire between Syrian government and rebel forces, including an incident near the airport in which two staff were injured.

He said: "We can confirm that the United Nations in Syria will pull out non-essential international personnel with immediate effect"

"The UN will also suspend its missions within the country until further notice," he added in New York.

The UN said that up to 25 of about 100 foreign staff would leave this week, pointing out that more armoured vehicles were needed after attacks in recent weeks on humanitarian aid convoys and the hijacking of goods or vehicles.

In total, the world body deploys more than 1,000 national and international staff in Syria, but movement and communications have become more difficult due to intensified fighting near the capital and a 48-hour Internet blackout last week, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The EU diplomatic service has an office in Damascus that has remained open throughout the Syrian crisis so far.

But a spokesman for foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told the Reuters news agency they were cutting back activities in the Syrian capital to a minimum citing security concerns: "The EU delegation has decided to reduce activities in Damascus to a minimum level due to the current security conditions".

In another sign of deteriorating security, an Egyptian commercial jet aborted a trip to Damascus in mid-flight because of violence near the airport.

The EgyptAir flight from Cairo rerouted about 30 minutes after takeoff because Egyptian officials received word from their counterparts in Damascus that the area near the airport was not safe, Egyptian airport officials said.

EgyptAir canceled all further flights to Syria for Monday and Tuesday and will decide later whether to resume flights later in the week, the officials said.

Emirates airlines said on its website that all flights to Syria were suspended "until further notice."

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Iran importing gold to evade economic sanctions, Turkish official says

Over the last six months, Iran has evaded U.S. sanctions by importing Turkish gold to pay for billions of dollars worth of energy sales to Turkey.
Turkey's deputy prime minister has described what amounts to a gold-for-oil barter system.

"Why did, all of the sudden, Turkey's gold exports, especially gold bullion, go up?" Ali Babacan asked while speaking before a parliamentary budget commission this month. The official transcript of his statements was published by a Turkish government website Wednesday.

"An important part of that is Iran," he said. "When Turkey buys Iranian oil, we pay for it in Turkish lira. ... However, it is not possible for Iran to take that money as dollars into its own country due to international restrictions, the U.S.A.'s sanctions. Therefore, when Iran cannot take this money back as currency, they withdraw Turkish lira and buy gold from our market. They take the gold back to their own country."


According to Turkish government statistics, Iran has imported billions of dollars worth of gold from Turkey since it was ejected from the SWIFT international electronic banking system in March.
Babacan's rhetorical question and answer resolved suspicions that Turkish economists have had for months, after they noticed an enormous spike in Turkey's gold exports to Iran in April.


"Our gold has always been there, the Iranians never paid any attention to it up until the last year when they were kicked out of the SWIFT banking system," said Atilla Yesilada, an economic analyst with Global Source Turkey.
The Turkish government reported that Iran leapt to first place among Turkey's export markets in April. That month, Turkey exported $1.2 billion in gold to Iran, a 438.2% jump from the previous year.
"Turkey is the big hole, the big gap in the wall of sanctions," Yesilada said.
He was pointing to the U.S.-led campaign to impose an economic blockade on Iran. Many economists say Washington has effectively declared economic war on Iran because of disagreements over its controversial nuclear program. The U.S. accuses Iran of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons, charges that Tehran has long denied.


Since the sanctions have been unilaterally imposed by Washington, Turkey is not breaking any international law by trading oil for gold with Iran. But in doing so, the Turks risk incurring the wrath of the U.S. government, an important military and political ally.
"At the end of July, the President issued an order that authorizes Treasury to impose sanctions on anyone who helps the Government of Iran acquire U.S. dollars or precious metals, including gold," a U.S. Treasury Department spokesman wrote to CNN this week, on condition he not be named. "We can't comment on any investigations that may be ongoing."
Economists say the gold-for-oil trade shows the sanctions are hurting Iran.
"This is very, very 19th century, taking gold around to manage your international sanctions," said Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, a professor of economics at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
"Iran lost its ability to sell oil, get electronic credit and use that to buy other stuff."
There has been a great deal of speculation about how the gold is physically being transferred from Turkey to Iran. Those questions extend also to the United Arab Emirates.
In August, Turkish government statistics show that the UAE suddenly replaced Iran as Turkey's chief export market. However, the main Turkish export to the UAE was gold -- $1.9 billion worth in August alone. Dubai has traditionally been the world's most important economic gateway to Iran.
In his appearance before the parliamentary commission, Deputy Prime Minister Babacan declined to comment on the logistics of the gold shipments. Instead, unconfirmed stories have swirled in the Turkish media of gold bullion being hand-carried out of the country in suitcases.
"We need to be more transparent about what Iran is doing with those gold bars, which apparently are being transported by physical couriers using 50-kilo (110-pound) bags, which is the limit of how much gold you can take out of Turkey," said Yesilada, the Turkish economist.
"There are really several James Bondian-like aspects to this, which no government would engage in, in an official or commercial transaction."
"The picture looks like a James Bond movie. You have individuals with black suitcases carrying gold," said Behzad Yaghmaian, an Iranian-American political economist at Ramapo College.
"This could not have happened in any form without the knowledge of the Turkish state. This amount could not have left the country to go to Iran without the state knowing about it."
The Turkish government has not responded to a written request from CNN to comment on the gold trade.
Some concerned observers worry the economic intrigue threatens to draw attention from the growing impact the U.S.-led sanctions are having on ordinary Iranians.
"Sanctions are a form of collective punishment on the Iranian people," said Yaghmaian, the author of "Social Change in Iran: An Eyewitness Account of Dissent, Defiance and New Movements for Rights."
"Iranians who oppose the Islamic Republic (of Iran), who have been under pressure by the Islamic Republic, who have been subjected to different forms of violence by the Islamic Republic, are once again facing a new form of violence that is economic violence."
Iranians have watched their buying power collapse over the last year, as the value of the Iranian rial plunged. There have also been reports of shortages of foreign pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, since Iranian companies have found it next to impossible to pay foreign suppliers because of restrictions on international banking.

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U.S. warns Syria not to use chemical weapons

The United States warned Syria again on Monday not to use chemical weapons amid intelligence reports indicating President Bashar al-Assad's regime could be preparing to take that step as it escalates its fight against rebel forces.
"I'm not going to telegraph in any specifics what we would do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday. "But suffice it to say, we are certainly planning to take action if that eventuality were to occur."
U.S. officials are concerned that with fighting closing in on Damascus, forcing the temporary closure of the airport there, the regime may be feeling desperate and toying with the idea that chemical weapons could finally crush the persistent rebellion.

"We believe that with the regime's grip on power loosening with its failure to put down the opposition through conventional means, we have an increased concern about the possibility of the regime taking the desperate act of using its chemical weapons," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry denied that the country had any plans to use chemical weapons, no matter the circumstances, state TV reported. But U.S. officials say "worrying signs" suggest otherwise.
According to one U.S. official, Syrian forces have begun combining chemicals that would be used to make deadly sarin gas for use in weapons to attack rebel and civilian populations.
The United States obtained intelligence over the weekend indicating this development, according to the official who had direct knowledge of the latest information.
The intelligence, the official said, came from multiple sources but the official declined to provide any more details about how the United states learned of it.
Sarin gas, the source said, could most readily be used to fill artillery shells.
"This isn't just about movement, but about potential intent to make certain chemical weapons ready for use," said a separate source, a U.S. intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Read more: Opposition accuses Syria of 'mental war' after Internet blackout
That source declined to describe the intelligence and acknowledged that the United States isn't entirely sure what the Syrian government is up to, or who ordered the moves.
President Barack Obama has warned that any use of chemical weapons by Syria in its civil war would be crossing a "red line" that would prompt a swift U.S. response.
Meanwhile, the United Nations said Monday that it is immediately pulling all nonessential employees out of Syria. It was unclear how many people were involved or what role they have been playing in Syria. The United Nations removed cease-fire monitors from the country in August.
On Monday, at least 150 people died across Syria, including 10 killed when Syrian warplanes bombed a town within sight of the Turkish border.
Thick black smoke rose from the border town of Ras al-Ain, where witnesses said the warplanes dropped two bombs. One appeared to strike a three-story building where opposition forces were staying, neighborhood mayor Mehmet Saitavci said.
The strike sent panicked civilians running to the fence that separates the two countries, witnesses told CNN.
Saitavci said the wounded were making their way to the border, where they were being picked up by ambulances.
"There are people with arms and legs missing coming across," he said.
Read more: Turkish town on Syrian border deals with fighting, ethnic differences

In Damascus, apparent fighting around the airport forced Egypt's national airline to cancel flights to Syria, including recalling one flight that had taken off, after Syrian authorities contacted the airline to say the security situation was bad "at the airport and its vicinity," airline spokesman Dina el-Fouly said.
The airport had been closed for three days because of fierce fighting, and Egypt Air had planned to resume flights Monday. They are now canceled indefinitely, el-Fouly said.
Elsewhere, government forces bombed, shelled and rained rocket fire on cities across the country in the latest efforts by al-Assad's forces to drive back rebel advances, opposition activists said.
The airstrikes signal a sharp escalation in the fighting by forces loyal to al-Assad and rebels seeking his ouster, raising concerns among Syria's neighbors that the 21-month-old civil war could spill across the borders.
Neighboring countries have reported deadly border skirmishes with either Syrian forces or rebels.
In June, Syrian anti-aircraft defenses shot down a Turkish military reconnaissance jet, killing two pilots, after it briefly crossed into Syrian airspace in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Months later, errant Syrian artillery shells hit the border town of Akcakale, killing five Turkish civilians.
As a result, Turkey has asked NATO for Patriot missiles to bolster its air defenses, a request NATO is expected to approve by Tuesday.
Read more: Young Syrian amputee makes dangerous journey to find help
The United States, Germany and the Netherlands, which all have Patriot capabilities, have signaled they may be willing to contribute missiles should NATO approve the deployment to Turkey.
However, Russia reiterated its opposition.
"We don't consider that this will lead to the improvement of security in the current situation." President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dimitri Pesvok, said Monday.

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Tony Blair: Be bold to escape economic crisis

Editor's note: Tony Blair served as Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1997-2007. He is now the Quartet Representative to the Middle East and has also set up the Africa Governance Initiative, a charity to help Africa's leaders deliver the change their people need to relieve poverty.
-- We are living through the deepest economic shock the world has seen in a lifetime. Its effects have been felt in more countries and in more homes than any other since the Great Depression.
Yet people rightly still expect the state to deliver; to create opportunities for employment, provide high-quality health, education and welfare services, and ensure safety and security. Today, these implementation challenges look increasingly similar whether you're in London, Beijing, Monrovia or Brasilia. The question is how can they be met post-financial crash.

As we look to emerge from the global economic crisis we face a choice: restore or renew. Do we restore the system we had before the crisis, or can we be bolder and look to renew our institutions and our thinking? I want to make the case for renewal in two areas: one in domestic, public service reform; and one in international, global governance.
It is clear that if we were designing our public services today they would look very different from those we inherited from the great post-war reforming governments. We would do things very differently, we would build systems that make the best use of technology and which fit for today's economy, lifestyle, and demographics.
As budgets are squeezed we need to look to renew our government for the modern world, not just make do by doing things in the same way with fewer resources.
Luckily, reformers in the West can learn from countries doing just that, whether it's mobile payment technology pioneered in Africa or the Georgian local government offices where you can access 250 government services from a single computer screen.
We also have the big picture evidence to tell us which countries are doing best at achieving more with less. For example, according to the Boston Consulting Group's new "Sustainable Economic Development Assessment" which was released in late November, while it has had an average GDP growth of 5.3% over the last five years, Brazil has generated living standard gains that would be expected of an economy expanding by an average of over 13% annually; many of the eastern European accession countries also do well.
It may seem strange to learn lessons from countries which are still behind the UK in terms of standards of living, but emerging economies are often where the most radical innovation is happening.
Internationally, we also have to take on the challenge of renewing global governance. Global governance sounds detached from the current debates about austerity and public services. But if you think about it, it really means nations coming together to take on problems that they can't solve alone. And if there's one thing the world financial crisis has taught us, it's that many of today's biggest problems are global and need global solutions.
So, what does renewal look like in global governance? First, it means strengthening regional bodies. To compete globally with the likes of China, India and the U.S., smaller nations must work together. That's why I have said that the European Union will become more -- not less -- important for Britain as a way of achieving global influence. The EU is no longer just about peace in Europe, it's about power in the world. The same logic applies to other regional groups like Asean, which will grow in both size and influence in the coming decades.
Second, we need to look again at the major international organisations. The current architecture of international decision-making was stretched to breaking point by the economic crisis, and will be stretched further by the emergence of the new powers. The G8 looks increasingly anachronistic, and the lines of power and responsibility between the emerging G20 and the U.N. are becoming ever-more blurred. We need a reformed international system which is robust and representative.
Finally, I want to mention Africa. As we grapple with policy interventions to spark even single digit growth, governments across Africa have been overseeing growth levels of between 5% and 8% for the last five years. Managing such rapid growth comes with its own challenges, yet Rwanda has lifted a million people out of poverty, Ghana is steadily moving towards total independence from aid, and Nigeria is virtually a BRICS nation in all but name.
Through my charity, the Africa Governance Initiative, I have seen the pace of change in Africa and it's dizzying. How this emerging powerhouse is integrated into the world economy, not as a recipient of aid but as a genuine partner, will be critical for all of us.
For world leaders today the challenges are vast, but I remain an optimist. I believe if we are bold, if we renew rather than rebuild along the old lines, we can emerge from this crisis stronger than we went into it.

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Beyond 2012: Why the World Won't End

Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know, however, it will be another winter solstice.

Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the claims behind the end of the world quickly unravel when pinned down to the 2012 timeline.

Question (Q): Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Many Internet websites say the world will end in December 2012.

 Answer (A):The world will not end in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.

Q: What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in 2012?

 A: The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 -- hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.

Q: Does the Mayan calendar end in December 2012?

 A: Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then -- just as your calendar begins again on January 1 -- another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar.

Q: Is NASA predicting a "total blackout" of Earth on Dec. 23 to Dec. 25?

 A: Absolutely not. Neither NASA nor any other scientific organization is predicting such a blackout. The false reports on this issue claim that some sort of "alignment of the Universe" will cause a blackout. There is no such alignment (see next question). Some versions of this rumor cite an emergency preparedness message from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. This is simply a message encouraging people to be prepared for emergencies, recorded as part of a wider government preparedness campaign. It never mentions a blackout.
›Watch the Video

Q: Could planets align in a way that impacts Earth?

 A: There are no planetary alignments in the next few decades and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. One major alignment occurred in 1962, for example, and two others happened during 1982 and 2000. Each December the Earth and sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that is an annual event of no consequence.
› More about alignment

"There apparently is a great deal of interest in celestial bodies, and their locations and trajectories at the end of the calendar year 2012. Now, I for one love a good book or movie as much as the next guy. But the stuff flying around through cyberspace, TV and the movies is not based on science. There is even a fake NASA news release out there..."
- Don Yeomans, NASA senior research scientist
Q: Is there a planet or brown dwarf called Nibiru or Planet X or Eris that is approaching the Earth and threatening our planet with widespread destruction?

 A: Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Eris is real, but it is a dwarf planet similar to Pluto that will remain in the outer solar system; the closest it can come to Earth is about 4 billion miles.

Q: What is the polar shift theory? Is it true that the Earth's crust does a 180-degree rotation around the core in a matter of days if not hours?

 A: A reversal in the rotation of Earth is impossible. There are slow movements of the continents (for example Antarctica was near the equator hundreds of millions of years ago), but that is irrelevant to claims of reversal of the rotational poles. However, many of the disaster websites pull a bait-and-switch to fool people. They claim a relationship between the rotation and the magnetic polarity of Earth, which does change irregularly, with a magnetic reversal taking place every 400,000 years on average. As far as we know, such a magnetic reversal doesn’t cause any harm to life on Earth. Scientists believe a magnetic reversal is very unlikely to happen in the next few millennia.
› More about polar shift

Q: Is the Earth in danger of being hit by a meteor in 2012?

 A: The Earth has always been subject to impacts by comets and asteroids, although big hits are very rare. The last big impact was 65 million years ago, and that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Today NASA astronomers are carrying out a survey called the Spaceguard Survey to find any large near-Earth asteroids long before they hit. We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs. All this work is done openly with the discoveries posted every day on the NASA Near-Earth Object Program Office website, so you can see for yourself that nothing is predicted to hit in 2012.

Q: How do NASA scientists feel about claims of the world ending in 2012?

 A: For any claims of disaster or dramatic changes in 2012, where is the science? Where is the evidence? There is none, and for all the fictional assertions, whether they are made in books, movies, documentaries or over the Internet, we cannot change that simple fact. There is no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December 2012.
› Why you need not fear a supernova
› About super volcanoes

Q: Is there a danger from giant solar storms predicted for 2012?

 A: Solar activity has a regular cycle, with peaks approximately every 11 years. Near these activity peaks, solar flares can cause some interruption of satellite communications, although engineers are learning how to build electronics that are protected against most solar storms. But there is no special risk associated with 2012. The next solar maximum will occur in the 2012-2014 time frame and is predicted to be an average solar cycle, no different than previous cycles throughout history.
› Video: Solar Storms
› More about solar storms

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